Cardinals sign lefty reliever Choate

B.J. RAINS

FS Midwest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The
Cardinals have found their left-handed reliever. And apparently it was the one they wanted all along.

A club official confirmed Wednesday evening that a three-year deal is in place with veteran left-handed reliever
Randy Choate, pending the completion of a physical Friday in St. Louis. The deal will reportedly pay him a total of $7.5 million.

Choate, 37, was arguably the top left-handed specialist available this winter. He held left-handed hitters to just a .158 batting average last season and had a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 innings with the
Marlins and
Dodgers.

In 12 big league seasons, Choate has held left-handed batters to just a .201 batting average and .284 slugging percentage.

The Cardinals withheld comment on the signing until the completion of Friday’s physical.

Choate was seen as one of the top left-handed relievers on the market behind
Sean Burnett, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Anaheim
Angels a short time later. But the Cardinals were apparently more intrigued by Choate because of their need for a lefty specialist. Burnett faces both rights and lefts.

The veteran Choate is most effective when used strictly as a left-handed specialist. And with the Cardinals’ late-inning trio of
Edward Mujica,
Mitchell Boggs and
Jason Motte all effective against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, the need for someone like Burnett was much less.

The durable lefty led the league in appearances in two of the past three seasons, topping the National League with 80 appearances last year and leading the American League with 85 appearances while with the Tampa Bay
Rays in 2010.

Choate broke into the big leagues in 2000 with the New York Yankees and has also pitched for the
Diamondbacks, Rays, Marlins and Dodgers. He was a part of the trade that sent
Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers last summer.

The Winter Meetings end Thursday morning with the Rule 5 Draft. The Cardinals don’t expect to make any additional moves before leaving Nashville but would still like to add a veteran bat for their bench and middle infield depth in the near future.